Sargent, Corbin, or ?!? - 696

[ducpainter]

It might help to shim the latch to make it easier.

[Kev M]

It might help to shim the latch to make it easier.

 

That did occur to me as I've had to do it on Corbins before. I'm just a bit too busy to get to it today.

But I appreciate the mention.

[Charlie98]

I'm curious about the seat slope.  The factory seat funnels your privates right down and mashes them into the tank... I'm wondering if the new seat might have a better profile... a more neutral seating position?  It kind of looks like it from the photos...

Sheesh... $550?

[koko64]

Saddle arrived.

Looks decent enough, though maybe the pan and fabric around the holes for the cowling were amateurish considering the price. I mean the OEM one doesn't leave loose fabric suspended and dangling over the hole for the screyws.

And the cowl fit is poor at best (really they couldn't have the piping match the cowl line?!?) making it difficult to line up and causing groaning/creaking if you attempt to push down on the cowl to lock the seat in place.

And pushing down with some force is necessary to get the seat to lock in place because of the pan shape/positioning.

Truthfully I would have accepted all this for say $300, but pushing $550 it's borderline unforgivable. Have some standards Sargent.

Height didn't change in any appreciable way and all Jenn could say from a quick sit was "seems firm".

So we'll keep it and ride with it soon.

Guess I'll report back about comfort when we get around to that too.

It's as if they forgot to fit the plastic bolt locator inserts for the seat cowl that are on the oem seat. Those inserts cover the cross cut in the vinyl.

[Kev M]

I'm curious about the seat slope.  The factory seat funnels your privates right down and mashes them into the tank... I'm wondering if the new seat might have a better profile... a more neutral seating position?  It kind of looks like it from the photos...

Sheesh... $550?

I THINK there's less or no slope, but I won't really be able to say till I ride it. She never noticed it in the first place, must be the different plumbing and 100# difference in our sizes.  

I'll let you know for sure when I get to take a quick test spin, which won't be today because it's already in the 80's at 7:15 am and supposed to hit triple digits. I'm hiding inside like a little beoch writing a Suzuki VanVan repair manual. But I will report back.

It's as if they forgot to fit the plastic bolt locator inserts for the seat cowl that are on the oem seat. Those inserts cover the cross cut in the vinyl.

Yes, that's what I was clumsily attempting to describe in my haste. In retrospect, looking at their website, I think that is by "design".

I.E. that they don't use those locater inserts which hold the cover fabric when the screws are out, instead they use inserts that sit under the cover in the pan and don't capture the fabric, and are therefore designed to have the bolts installed all the time - with or without the cover.



As a matter of fact I kinda wonder if you can overtighten the bolts and crack the cover. I backed off when I was installing the cover for that reason.

[Kev M]

PS -  Jenn says "yes, definitely slopes less or maybe not at all."

[Charlie98]

Interesting.

I'll be curious about your riding impressions...

In lieu of ordering a custom seat, $550 might be a fair bargain if it changes the seating position...  Maybe I could get 2 TANKS of gas through it before I need a walker...

[Kev M]

Small update... ran a quick errand on it this morning, only about 10 miles or so.

Initial impression:

* Definitely more support to the rear of the saddle. That feels like it's going to be an improvement, but I'll have no idea until I take it for a longer spin, at least 50 miles.

* Subjectively, I don't THINK it eliminated the slope toward the tank as I can easily slide forward if I don't still hold slightly with arms or legs. But also subjectively I THINK it reduced it. Again I'll know more after more miles.


None of this really matters that much to me, as I don't ride this bike much, it's really her love. So I'm still anxiously awaiting weather nice enough for HER opinion.

[Kev M]

Well - Jenn gave it the old college try.

But after ~1k miles she's decided it's not for her. It's a tad wider than stock which cuts into her legs and it lifts her up slightly changing the lean to the bars enough that she just isn't getting comfortable and she doesn't want to fool around with risers or the like.

So it's up for grabs if anyone is interested in a lightly use/like new Sargent Seat for a 696.

https://ducatimonsterforum.org/index.php?topic=79741.msg1468812#msg1468812


Oh well...

[Charlie98]

Well... poop.  A shame it doesn't fit the 796...

[Kev M]

Well... poop.  A shame it doesn't fit the 796...

You win some, you lose some right? - oh well, no worries.

Yeah, sorry it doesn't fit AFAIK.

RIDE SAFE!

Kev


PS - in case anyone looks into this type of seat for a 696 again - it was MORE comfortable at the butt (for me) but IT DID raise us up which changed the lean and put more weight on the bars. IF the bike were mine and not hers I probably would have played around with risers to bring the reach to the bars back to my liking, but it's not (mine), so it didn't matter.